What a fun and busy summer it's been already! After 'The Gathering' painting weekend earlier this month, I hit the ground running with my summer art classes. So far a have a three summer 'camps' under my belt, or nearly...and three more to go! I have really enjoyed my students and am so thankful for the opportunity to continue teaching!!!

Most of my career has been dedicated to working with elementary-aged students ...but this summer I'm bustin' out of that comfort zone: I've already taught a three-session painting classto a group teen girls, and I'm currently preparing (or should I say bracing myself for! ha ha) a preschool art camp in July! :)

Something else I'm really excited about is an Adult/Teen 'Intro to Painting' class that will be starting in August and I will be teaching that class out of my house (Indianapolis, Castleton area). Click on the button below to see more details. Also, enjoy the photo slideshow below of some of my summer teaching adventures thus far!

PS- In the mist of all this teaching business, for the record...I do miss painting! Hopefully I will get to fit some of that in soon! :)

Last weekend, I participated in The Gathering of Plein Air* Painters, an annual event held in Hamilton County, Indiana. It was so much fun and the weather couldn't have been better! Last year, I entered this event with serious fear and trembling as it was my first time doing a plein air competition. This year, I enjoyed the new confidence I had gained by having an additional 100 paintings under my belt...I really have grown in my confidence and security of my painting process. I was nervous again this year, don't get me wrong, but more of an excited-nervous! (Here's my post about last year's experience)

I was fortunate again to be doing this event with my friend Rachel Steely James. I highly recommend doing this type of thing with a buddy, it makes it so much more fun, plus you feel like less of a weirdo when you're painting on the side of the road! haha For both Thursday and Friday, we got early start, completed a painting in the morning, enjoyed a picnic lunch, and then found a new location for an afternoon painting. By Friday night, I was exhausted, but pleased with the four I had completed. I decided to document my journey by sharing updates and photos on my Facebook Page, so that was a fun aspect for me: I really appreciated all the feedback and encouragment I received through that!

On Saturday, I turned in all four paintings in to be judged. I won an honorable mention for my Rolling Field Painting (with cash prize) and also received a Patron Site Award for the City County Building painting. You'll see better photos of my paintings from this weekend once they come up in my blog order, they are paintings #130-134. :)

*And just in case you think I'm a bad speller (which I actually am), 'Plein air' is a French term for painting outdoors. :)